Acid Witch – Stoned

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As you’d expect from a band who gained popularity on the Razorback Records label, Acid Witch doesn’t shy away from sampling, singing about, and channeling the feeling of the ’70s B-movies chock full of over-the-top gore and satanic references. But that’s what makes it so enjoyable to listen to. On one end, Acid Witch is a competent death/doom band, in the vein of Hooded Menace or current Asphyx. The riffs are crushing and slow, but have a very nice groove to them. The opening track, Witchfynder Finder, and the sample-laden Thundering Hooves show how thick and heavy Acid Witch can be. But where the band really shines is the psychadelic keyboards added to other songs. Live Forever has an organ solo that just absolutely separates Acid Witch from so many others in the doom/death scene. It’s still heavy, but Acid Witch has made the organ solo cool again. There’s not nearly as much psychadelic sounds as on their debut album, but there’s just enough that it balances the album out and prevents Acid Witch from sounding like a gimmick. The album closes with a few brilliant songs: Stoned To The Grave, which is the anthem for Acid Witch, and Metal Movie Marijuana Massacre Meltdown, which is about the Gene Simmons horror movie ‘Trick Or Treat’ which is required viewing for any metalhead. There’s enough on Stoned to draw in fans of extreme metal, doom metal, and psychadelic rock. One of the best albums in a while.

Written by Jackson May
More: 2010, Albums, Doom Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Stoner, Acid Witch